My, but the answers just keep rolling in today:

[Jeff Tumbarello]

http://www.bloomberg.com:80/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aColIYAe.RaU&refer=home

April 24 (Bloomberg) -- Give money away. That was a solution to the housing crisis mortgage giant Fannie Mae hit on last year.

Faced with growing numbers of homeowners unable to make mortgage payments, Fannie decided to fund loans to borrowers that were instant losers.

The point was to buy time. Even though those loans resulted in a $453 million loss, they helped keep troubled homeowners from defaulting. That meant Fannie for now didn